Keeping Time
by Samantha J. Mulder
Summary: When the Diffys left the 21st century, it effected time in a way no one ever expected. It's up to the Timekeeper to fix it but she can't do it alone. She sends Phil Diffy back in time to change the past in order to save the future and the girl he loves.
1. Chapter 1

A/n: Hello everyone! It's been awhile, eh? No, I didn't forget about y'all I've just been putting all my time and energy into finishing my screenplay. I've had a few request to come back to PotF (most of them from CraftyNotepad-thanks for the support!) so now that I'm onto rewrites on my screenplay I decided, why not make a comeback?

So here it is, as a requested. It's a little different than anything I've done I've done in the past but I really wanted to play around with idea of time. I was largely inspired by Terry Pratchett's novel _Night Watch_ as well as _Back to the Future _and _Lost. _ Now, drum roll please...

**Keeping Time**

_Somewhere beyond the reaches of time and space the Timekeeper stared at the screen in front of her. It couldn't be right. It was impossible. Time should have been snapping back into place but instead...instead the rubber band had snapped in two and the riff in time was getting bigger. The problem should have been fixed when they left, but now...now their were two versions of history running side by side and the right reality was slowly fading. It was the exact opposite of what should have been happening and all logic told her it was bloody impossible yet there it was, staring her in the face. _

_The Timekeeper sighed and leaned back. She knew how to fix it. The only problem was it went against everything she held to be true as timekeeper but...but it had to be done. It was against every regulation but it had to be done. She didn't have to do it alone, though. In fact, there was no way she could do it alone. Not if she wanted to keep her job. She turned off the monitor, stood up and walked out of her office. There was only one person who could help her now. _

A/n: I know the first chapter was a little short but it was really more of a prologue to the story. I'll try to update as soon as possible so hang tight. As always, reviews are appreciated.

-Sam


	2. Chapter 2

Phil Diffy opened the door to his bedroom, dropped his bag on the floor and collapsed on the bed. His room looked like any other bedroom belonging to every 17 year old boy in the 22nd century except for a few small details. Among all the latest electronic gizmos were all kinds of out dated technology; an cell phone, a digital camera, an iPod, all things he'd brought back from the past. On the wall were pictures of a certain blonde girl from the 21st century. And on his bedside table was a simple, stainless steel pepper shaker.

He picked the pepper shaker and turned it over in his hands. If he closed his eyes and concentrated, he could almost imagine he was back there, walking the halls of HG Wells, laughing with his friends, avoiding Hackett. He could almost imagine he was still with her, seeing her smile, dancing with her in his garage, kissing her.

Phil didn't know how many times he'd replayed that scene in his head, he'd lost count long ago, but if he were to make a list of the greatest moments of his life, kissing Keely Teslow would have no contest for the top spot.

Phil sighed and continued to stare at the pepper shaker. He had tried to move on but it had proved impossible. He was still in love with her and there was no getting around it. The logical part of Phil's brain told him that she had probably moved on and, anyway, he was here and she was there but every other part of Phil knew that she loved him and, against all logical, they were supposed to be together.

Phil sat up, and as he did, the entire world seemed to go into slow motion. When he looked up, the Timekeeper was standing at the foot of his bed.

"What are you doing here?" Phil asked, shocked. He never expected the Timekeeper to show up in his bedroom, especially now that he was back in 22nd century.

The Timkeeper looked him square in the eye and replied, "I need your help."

Meanwhile, Captain Jack Marcus, head of the Time Watch switched off his computer monitor and leaned back in his large chair. A maniacal grin crossed his face as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his shirt pocket. "So, Timekeeper, trying to play hero again?"

A/n: There you have it, chapter 2. The plot thickens, eh? Reviews are appreciated and the next chapter should be up soon...maybe. -Sam


	3. Chapter 3

A/n: I'm sorry this chapter took so long to get up but I was on vacation, working and playing Guitar Hero for hours on end. Anyway, this chapter should be worth the wait.

**Chapter 3**

The Timekeeper pulled Phil to his feet. He, meanwhile, was much to busy trying to figure out which of the hundred questions bouncing around in his head to ask first. He finally settled on one. "What-" he started but never got the chance to finish. The Timekeeper had waved her hand and the room had started to spin.

When everything stopped spinning and Phil could focus both his mind and his vision again, he had a whole new set of questions. There was one, however that seemed the most pressing. "Where are we?"

In front of him was a large office building. The building itself seemed real but the landscape around it seemed less and less so the farther is got away until it just faded into nothingness. Looking out into the abyss beyond the building, Phil thought if he walked far enough he might just fall off the edge of the universe.

"This is the Timekeeper Headquarters." The Timekeeper said, gesturing toward the building.

"Headquarters?" Phil asked, following her towards the building. "You mean there's more than one of you?"

"The Timekeeper organization is made up of a good number of people, yes." They had entered the building by now and were standing in a sprawling, deserted lobby. "We don't get many visitors." The Timekeeper added as she lead Phil toward the elevator.

"Hang on," Phil said as they waited for the elevator, "What happened to your, you know, fairy godmother get-up?"

It was true that as soon as they had walked into the building, the Timekeeper's appearance had changed dramatically. She had lost the frilly pink dress and tiara and no longer looked like Barbara Diffy. Instead, she was a tall woman in her early thirties with a slender but athletic frame. She had shoulder length auburn hair that fell into her eyes. In place of her demented tooth fairy outfit she wore a well tailored black suit with a crisp white shirt.

"I told you the first time we meet that I used a form that was familiar to you; your mother," The Timekeeper said. "As for the outfit, I just thought it was funny."

She shot him a quick smile as the stepped into the elevator. She pressed the button for the 15th floor and the elevator started to move. As the rode up, Phil tried to make sense of everything that had happened so far, without very much luck.

When the elevator stopped, the door slid open to reveal what looked to Phil like a NASA space control, Northern Command and the bridge of the Enterprise all rolled into one. Huge screens lined every wall with maps, graphs and timelines flickered on them. People worked at the computer consoles that took up most the space in the room and holograms spun overheard and changed as people interacted with them. Everyone in the room was wearing blue uniforms with Timekeeper insignia.

"Welcome to the command floor of the Timekeeper Headquarters," The Timekeeper said as she stepped out of the elevator.

"What is this place?" Phil asked, looking around in awe.

"I'll explain in my office."

The Timekeeper lead Phil across the room. As they made their way through the maze of instruments and monitors, several people saluted when The Timekeeper. When the came to a door on the far side of the room, The Timekeeper unlocked it and then shut it behind Phil.

When she flipped on the light, Phil looked around. They were in a large office. A window took up one wall with an oak desk in front of it. The other two walls were hidden behind floor-to-ceiling bookcases. Monitors occupied most of the desk and what little space remained had been taken over by paperwork.

The Timekeeper sat down behind the desk and Phil sat across from her. For the third time, Phil had hundreds of questions competing for his attention. He settled on, "What exactly is the Timekeeper organization? Are you the only Timekeeper or are all those other people Timekeepers too?"

"It's not really as simple as all that," The Timekeeper said. "But let me start at the beginning.

"My name is Ritsuko Katsuragi."

"That sounds Japanese." Phil thought out loud.

"It is. I was raised in Japan after my parents died in a time travel accident. But that's not important. My official title is Commander of the Timekeepers, but more informally I am simply the Timekeeper. Everyone who works for the organization are also Timekeepers but I'm the one that gets all the face time. It's part of the job description."

"What does the Timekeeper organization do?"

"We make sure nothing happens to the space-time continuum."

"I thought that was what the Time Watch was for. To make sure time travelers didn't do anything to mess with history."

Ritsuko shook her head. "The Time Watch deals with enforcing time travel laws. They don't bother with the details. Our job to is to make sure the actions of time travelers don't interfere with the course of history or disrupt the space-time continuum, like when I stopped you from revealing who you really were to one Mr. Neil Hackett." She sighed. "That used to be the goal of the Time Watch, back when it was first established but then...then their priorities changed. The Watch became more or less the personal police force of the Secretary of the Department of Time and some of the members weren't too happy with suddenly having to play politics. A sort of a schism took place and those who were fed up with the new Time Watch left and formed the Timekeeper Organization. We operate outside the government, sometimes against the government and almost all the time without government knowledge."

Phil filed all this information in the necessary parts of his brain then said, "Okay, I get it. You're the Rebel Alliance and they're the Empire, right?"

Ritsuko laughed. "I guess you could put it that way. Just don't call me Princess Leia."

"All right. So, what does any of this have to do with me?"

"I need your help to fix your past in order to save the future."

"Is something going to happen to me in the future?"

"Not you. It's your kids, Phil! Something has to be done about your kids!"

A/n: Everyone like that last line I borrowed from one of greatest movies of all time, _Back to the Future_? "It's your kids, Marty! Something has to be done about your kids!" The next chapter should be up soon, with any luck. In the meantime, leave a review like always.

-Sam


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